Delhi in better situation as compared to June: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said that the COVID-19 situation in the national capital is much better than what the mathematical projections had predicted a month ago.

The Chief Minister had, last month, claimed that the coronavirus cases would mount to 2.5 lakh and the city would require 33,000 beds by July 15. "We now have 1.15 lakh cases. We are in a much better situation than what the mathematical projections had shown. The situation is under control but we cannot be complacent."

On June 1, there were 4,100 beds in Delhi, today there are 15,500 beds. "Today, there are 2,100 ICU beds, of which 1,100 are vacant. People now have the confidence that in case they need to be hospitalised, there will be no shortages," Kejriwal said, adding that the death rate has also come down.

He further emphasised that the Delhi government could not have fought the disease alone. "That is why we went to everyone including the central government, NGOs and religious organisations. I thank BJP and Congress."

With 1,606 new coronavirus cases and 35 deaths in the last 24 hours, the national capital recorded a total tally of 1,15,346 cases and 3,446 deaths. The number of recoveries are, however, five times higher than active cases.